Can't Help Loving You
by elsiecarson
Summary: Takes place when Mrs Hughes comes back to Downton from the fair to find Mr. Carson and Miss Sybbie in the library. I thought that was a beautiful scene and I expanded on it for this.
1. Back from the Fair

When Mrs Hughes enters the library after her day at the fair, Mr Carson is bouncing Miss Sybbie gently on his hip. It looks so natural to see him this way and Mrs Hughes can imagine him doing this with one of his grandchildren and it seems sad that he didn't get that opportunity.

"You're back then." Mr Carson says as he looks up and sees Mrs Hughes standing in the doorway.

Mrs Hughes slowly walks into the room. She doesn't want to break the moment between Miss Sybbie and Mr Carson. "Yes, we're back and with stories to tell that can wait until later. Where's Nanny?"

"I don't know, but we're alright. Would you like to hold her?" Mr Carson offers.

"Oh, I don't know if that's necessary. I was quite enjoying watching you with her." Mrs Hughes teases Mr Carson.

"There is no need to get sentimental Mrs Hughes. I just thought you might want to hold Miss Sybil. I know you're very good with small children." Mr. Carson says casually.

"Alright then." Mrs Hughes says gently. "Come here little angel." Mrs Hughes lifts Sybbie into her arms. She hears the little girl sniffle for a moment and then settle. Sybbie rests her head against Mrs Hughes' cheek.

"You're a natural with her you know." Mr. Carson says quietly.

"She's such a sweet baby. You're very good with her too, you know. I suspect if I'd come into the room any later you'd have been singing to her." Mrs Hughes teases Mr. Carson gently. She sits down and bounces Sybbie gently on her knee.

"I was considering singing to her when she was fussing, but she settled quite quickly." Mr. Carson sits down next to Mrs Hughes. He loves moments like this no matter how rare. "Did you have a good time today?"

"I had a wonderful time. I rode the carousel and had really nice food. The weather was perfect. You should have come, even Mrs Crawley and Dr. Clarkson came." Mrs Hughes tells Mr. Carson. "I hardly saw most of our colleagues all day. You could have come with us."

"I wouldn't have felt right if I'd come. I wouldn't want to ruin anyone's fun, but it would have been nice to spend the day together." Mr. Carson says sadly.

"Is that what you think about every time you decide whether or not to do something? You wouldn't have ruined anyone's fun if you'd come with us and you may have even had some fun yourself. You underestimate how accommodating our young charges can be. I would have liked to spend some time with you today. We could have even gone on the Ferris wheel together." Mrs Hughes smiles at Mr. Carson.

"It sounds like you had our whole day planned out. I'm sorry that I didn't come with you." Mr. Carson says honestly.

"Edna will have to go, you know. I didn't see many of our charges today, but I did see Edna and Mr. Branson on the carousel. She pretended to slip and Mr. Branson caught her. She's crossed a boundary and she doesn't care. She's not cut out to be a housemaid. She needs to find a different career." Mrs Hughes tells Mr. Carson.

"I wondered how long it would take for her to cross the line. I suspected she would cross the line eventually. She may be lucky she didn't try to pursue Mr. Crawley or His Lordship like some maids in the past." Mr. Carson says seriously. He softly strokes Sybbie's hair.


	2. Back to the Nursery

"I suppose we should take this wee one back up to the nursery. She's falling asleep in my arms." Mrs Hughes smiles at the little girl.

"It's so sweet to see you like this. It's sad that you didn't ever get to be a mum. You'd have been a good mum. You're very good with Miss Sybil, Elsie." Mr. Carson says sweetly.

"That's very sweet of you to say, Charles. Will you come with me and put Miss Sybbie down to sleep? Maybe we can have some tea after." Mrs Hughes requests of her friend.

"Of course Elsie. Let's get our little girl to bed. She looks tired." Charles whispers.

Elsie stands up and sets Sybbie on her hip. Charles follows Elsie out of the room and up the stairs to the nursery. Elsie lays Sybbie down in her cot and tucks her in using the pale pink blanket she has in the cot. Sybbie is already fast asleep. "Good night precious angel." Elsie whispers in the dark. She feels Charles' hand on her lower back.

"Come on, let's leave her to sleep. If we don't nanny won't be very happy with us." Charles leaves his hand on Elsie's lower back and leads her out of the room.

Charles softly closes the nursery door. "That was remarkably easy to get her to sleep. You did very well with her, Elsie." Charles breathes a sigh of relief.


	3. Bold Move

Elsie turns quickly to face Charles. "I'm going to do something very bold and I'll deal with the consequences after." Elsie steps close to Charles, puts her hand on Charles' cheek, stretches up on her toes and kisses Charles on the lips. She turns away from Charles so she doesn't have to hear Charles' rejection.

"Don't you dare turn away from me when you've done something so wonderful." Charles puts his hands on Elsie's waist, turns her back towards him, and kisses her a little more firmly. He slowly pulls away from Elsie. "I wish you'd done that a long time ago."

"Come and have tea with me?" Elsie asks breathlessly. She can't believe Charles just did that.

"How can I resist that offer?" Charles puts his arms around Elsie's waist, pulls her against him and kisses her. Elsie slides her fingers into Charles' hair. Charles is quite happy the family isn't here right now.

"You can't resist that offer now." Elsie says teasingly.

"You're so beautiful." Charles says as he strokes Elsie's cheek.

"You're a flatterer." Elsie blushes at Charles' compliment.

"It's true. Don't be so surprised." Charles and Elsie walk down the hall and down the stairs to Elsie's sitting room where a tea tray is already waiting for them.


	4. Quiet Alone Time

"Am I going to hear those stories from the fair today?" Charles asks as he sits down. He's curious now that Elsie hinted she had stories. Despite the fact he doesn't like gossiping about the family he does like to hear a good story about the staff.

"I suppose I should tell you the stories. I already told you about Edna, but there's a story about Mrs Patmore and one about Jimmy and Thomas." Elsie pours two cups of tea and sits down.

"I don't want to hear anymore stories and Thomas and James. Their stories make my head spin." Charles says firmly. Those two young men could easily drive him to retirement. They manage to make things around the house so much more difficult.

"This is actually a positive story about the two of them on one front. I just hope Thomas is okay." Elsie says gently. She's trying to be reassuring, but the outcome of today may not be good in the short term for the running of the house.

"What do you mean you hope Thomas is okay?" Charles asks sharply. He's immediately concerned about efficiency at the dinner table.

"Just let me tell the story without you interrupting. If you interrupt I'll never get my stories told. Jimmy was drinking today, probably more than he should, and he bet on the Downton tug of war team and he won 10 pounds. When he was walking back towards the wagonette to sleep off the drink he was jumped by three of the men on the opposing tug of war team. Luckily Thomas was following Jimmy and he stepped in and told Jimmy to run. Thomas took the beating for Jimmy." Elsie sighs heavily.

"Is Thomas alright?" Mr. Carson asks with concern in his voice. It doesn't surprise him that Thomas would step in to defend James, but only he and Elsie really know why.

"He's battered and bruised, but Dr. Clarkson looked him over and said nothing's broken. He's not going to be able to work for a while though. He looks like a thug." Mrs Hughes says seriously. "He's got nasty bruises to his face and a sprained wrist."

Charles sighs heavily. Just when he was up to a full complement of servants Thomas gets injured. "What about the story with Mrs Patmore?"

Elsie starts to laugh. "Actually, it's not that funny. You know Mr. Tufton, our new supplier? He's been flirting with Mrs Patmore since his first delivery. He invited her to the fair, but he was flirting with other women behind her back all day. Mrs Patmore didn't notice. I had to tell her what I'd seen and she was relieved because Mr. Tufton had been driving her crazy all day. So, Mr. Tufton won't be supplying us anymore."

"I almost feel sorry for Mrs Patmore, but I also know she can look after herself. Didn't she get that new blouse to go out to the fair with him? Aren't you glad you're not being chased by a man like Mr. Tufton?" Charles asks teasingly.

"I'm just glad you're chasing me. No one else chasing me matters but you." Elsie says sweetly. "Yes, she did get a new blouse. I hope she continues to wear it. It does look well on her."

"That is so sweet of you to say, Elsie." Charles leans over and kisses Elsie.

"It's true. No one could ever compare to you. When I met Joe Burns again all I could do was think about how unlike you he was. He just didn't live up to my standards anymore, if he ever did. Something about him didn't sit right with me when he asked me the first time, but I couldn't put my finger on it." Elsie says honestly.

"I didn't realize I'd created such high standards for you. I'm sorry if that ruined your ability to find true love." Charles says gently.

"Don't be sorry. If it weren't for those standards I probably wouldn't still be here. I'm here loving you because of the standards you created for me. You are exactly what I've always looked for all in one person." Elsie says seriously. "Besides, you're my true love."

"You don't regret anything then?" Charles encourages Elsie to be honest. He would hate to think that she regretted her decisions that led her to him.

"No, I don't regret anything. Sticking to my principles brought me to you and just look at how special our relationship has been and will continue to be." Elsie softly kisses Charles.

Charles sighs happily and holds Elsie tightly in his arms. "That may be the greatest compliment anyone has ever paid me. Thank you, Elsie. That is very sweet of you today."

"It's the truth Charles. I never tell you untruths. You and I have always been able to be honest with each other. That shouldn't change now." Elsie says seriously.

Charles smiles broadly and then kisses Elsie firmly. He can't believe Elsie is being so sweet with him. She looks so pretty in her outfit, for once not black. She looks younger and it's clear she's been able to relax today. Black always seems to age a woman more than any other colour. He almost wishes he had gone so he could have seen her that way. When she's at Downton she's more strict, more buttoned-down, more prim and proper. Working here lacks freedom for all of them, but most particularly Elsie and himself. He can see the strain in her sometimes and he wishes he could alleviate it, but it comes with the job. They both hold themselves to higher standards and they cannot be ignored. The quiet is nice and Charles is glad Elsie came back earlier than the others from the fair. It gives them a chance to be together with no one else around. Finding alone time is next to impossible. Neither of them would survive the mortification of being discovered together by a member of the staff or the family. The normally bustling downstairs is quiet and calm and they can actually hear the clock on the wall ticking away the moments. While this ticking clock would normally signal both of them that they should be working, today holds no such sense. The downstairs is lovely and cool despite the heat of midsummer outside and Elsie appreciates it after her long wagonette ride back. The rest of the staff are resting upstairs taking advantage of the fact the family won't be back 'til later. Charles suddenly registers in his mind that Elsie is humming softly. He often wishes he could ask her to sing to him once. She has such a beautiful voice, but it seems like a request she wouldn't appreciate. She never sings on her own, only in church and at Christmas. Her voice probably wouldn't be noticed at all except for the fact that he stands next to her in church every Sunday and he notices everything. He closes his eyes and listens to the sound of her softly humming. He could probably fall asleep like this. It would be easy and she is the only person on earth he can imagine ever seeing him fast asleep. She has caught him napping from time to time, but he can imagine falling well and truly asleep with her. She makes him feel that at ease.

Elsie never minds the silence. It means that they're comfortable with each other and she loves that. She suddenly realizes she's humming although she can't place the tune. Probably something from her childhood her mother used to sing. Those are usually the tunes she goes back to. The clock on the wall chimes bringing both of them out of their daydream. "Goodness, look at the time! Downstairs dinner's about to be served and I'm not back in uniform yet! I'd best dash!"

"I'll see you at dinner, Elsie." Charles whispers as her figure dashes quickly out the door. He can hear rapid footsteps on the stairs and he can't help but smile. The woman who's never in a rush is suddenly out of time because of him.


End file.
